The New York Times reported that several of its journalists were served with subpoenas by the Department of Justice on Friday evening. Federal agents visited the homes of the reporters to deliver the documents, which demand they testify before a federal grand jury in Manhattan next Wednesday regarding an alleged violation of federal criminal law. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images hide caption
The legal action stems from the newspaper’s reporting on Air Force One. On Wednesday, The Times published an article citing anonymous sources that claimed the Secret Service advised President Trump to use an older version of the aircraft for a trip to a NATO summit in Turkey, rather than a Boeing 747 donated by Qatar, due to security risks. A follow-up report the next day alleged the gifted plane lacked critical defensive countermeasures, such as advanced antimissile capabilities, that were standard on the older model.
The four reporters named in the subpoenas are Julian E. Barnes, Eric Lipton, Tyler Pager, and Eric Schmitt. David McCraw, the newspaper’s senior vice president and deputy general counsel, characterized the arrival of law enforcement at the journalists’ homes as a “brazen act” intended to intimidate the press and prevent public oversight of government operations.
Prior to publication, a senior FBI official reportedly reached out to a reporter and an editor to request that the story be withheld and that the sources be identified. Both employees of the newspaper declined those requests. The subpoenas were issued by U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton of the Southern District of New York, who is currently President Trump’s nominee for national intelligence director.
Bruce D. Brown, president of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, criticized the move, stating that it deviates from established Justice Department practices that prioritize protecting press independence. He argued that prosecutors should only approach journalists as a final measure after all other options have been exhausted. Neither the White House nor the FBI provided comments on the matter, and the Southern District of New York did not respond to inquiries.
This development occurs amid ongoing legal tension between President Trump and The Times. The President has previously accused the publication of defamation and undermining his reelection efforts. Earlier this year, the FBI also conducted an unusual search of property belonging to Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson, seizing devices as part of a probe into leaked information related to federal workforce reductions.
